Betrayal in All its Forms
by Mystikwriter
Summary: Ignoring the sizzling heat of Eliot's fury at his back, Alec ducked into the stairwell of his apartment building.


"Dude, I am so not talking to you right now!"

Ignoring the sizzling heat of Eliot's fury at his back, Alec ducked into the stairwell of his apartment building. Right now he was so angry that standing still for even a second was unbearable, and running up five flights of stairs sounded a whole hell of a lot better than being locked in a steel box with Eliot. Hell, right now being in the same building as the man was unacceptable.

"Will you just stop for a second!"

Any other day the edge to Eliot's frustrated growl would have warned Alec off, warned him that whatever his lover was sitting on had reached the boiling point. Only this time Eliot wasn't the only one riding a temper, and Alec wasn't about to give the other man so much as an inch.

"No, I will not stop! You know why? Because you nearly let me drown in a fucking pool!"

Alec was so angry he could barely even see straight. The only reason he hadn't taken a tumble down the steps so far was from sheer momentum, and an iron grip on the steel railing.

"Dammit, Hardison! What was I supposed to do!" Eliot snapped, one step behind him.

"Oh I don't know, your job maybe? You're the one always going on about protecting us! What part of protecting me said it was okay to let me drown in a pool?"

Alec put on a burst of speed and darted through the door leading onto his floor and he slammed it shut on Eliot's curse, the other man's voice dark with rage. His long strides ate up the distance from his door, and he didn't even twitch when the door to the stairwell slammed open as Eliot barreled through it.

He got through his door in a matter of seconds, and slammed that one behind him too. Alec briefly considered locking it behind him, then tossed that thought aside. Eliot had been too riled up to let something as flimsy as a locked door stop him, and Alec would rather not have to replace it when this was all over.

Especially considering other things might need to be replaced instead.

Alec marched straight into his kitchen, whipping around halfway there when the door jerked open and slammed shut behind Eliot. "Get out of my house!" If Alec was surprised by the amount of venom in the demand, he was too angry to care.

Eliot didn't so much as hesitate, striding forward, his face a dark thundercloud. "We're going to talk about this, Hardison!"

"I think you've talked enough, don't you?" Alec crossed his arms over his chest, eyes burning from the force of his glare.

Eliot shoved a hand through his hair. "If I'd pulled you out Damien would never have left us leave that hotel alive!"

"Damien, huh? And when were you going to tell us you were on a first name basis with Damien Moreau, the Dealer of Death? For someone who claims they want to talk, you don't seem to be doing a lot of it."

"I promise confidentiality with all my clients, and I don't go back on my word." Eliot bit out.

"Oh I see," Alec exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "You'll protect your scum bag clients, but leave your partner, the guy you're sleeping with I might add, to drown. Great plan!"

"I did what I had to do." Eliot snapped, hands drawn into tight fists at his side.

"So you decided to negotiate while I was trying not to drown?" Alec shook his head. "That's some real dedication. No wonder you ended up with Moreau."

The words had barely left his mouth before Alec wished he could take them back. The look on Eliot's face punctured the fury that had swelled inside him like a cheap balloon. The man had been shot and kicked bloody, and Alec had never seen him flinch like that.

Alec reached out. "Eliot, man I'm sorry, I didn't mean it—"

Eliot recoiled, and the pain folded back behind a blank face, his eyes growing dark with cold rage. "You think I'm like Damien Moreau?"

The soft question had Alec swallowing hard, hands shaking as he realized he'd crossed a line with no way to jump back to the other side. "No, I—"

Alec took an instinctive step back when Eliot began to stalk towards him before holding his ground, hands clenched. He'd never been afraid of Eliot; awed by his strength and ferocity, but never afraid. His heart hammered against his breast bone as he was pinned in place by the kind of look that he'd only ever seen Eliot turn on his enemies.

"I told all of you that we were out of our league with Moreau, but none of you listened to me. When you steal things you do it from behind a desk, safe and sound behind your little computers. You've never had to face the good people who paid for your choices. Not like I have." Eliot reached out and pushed Alec, who bit back a yelp as his back collided with the counter's hard edge. "You think you've seen the darker side of things, but you've seen nothing!"

Alec grasped the edge of the counter as Eliot crowded into his personal space, throat dry and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"Damien steals lives, ripping families apart and decimating whole villages simply because he can. He moves through this world and lays waste to everything around him on a whim." Eliot smiled, and this time it was Alec's turn to flinch, the gesture empty and cold. "The one thing we had in common was how good we were at killing."

Alec swallowed bile, wanting to push Eliot away, shove away the pain and fury and the words that flew at him like razors, but he held back, afraid that he'd already pushed the other man too far.

"He hired me because I was the best, and I did what I was hired to do, no questions asked. Damien would name the target, and I would pull the trigger. So you're right, Hardison, I am just like Damien Moreau, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life making up for it."

When Eliot shoved away from the counter, Alec spent a few seconds gaping like a fish before he realized that Eliot was _leaving _and he knew the moment he stepped outside that door, things would change.

Alec didn't hesitate, knew he would see the stupidity of what he was about to do and change his mind because this was going to _hurt_ in more ways than one if this went bad. After spending over a year working with Eliot, Alec had picked up some tricks when it came to fighting, and he used one of them now. Rounding the counter he sprang forward and locked his arm in place around Eliot's neck, dragging him back.

Even expecting it, Alec couldn't help shouting in surprise as he was hauled over Eliot's shoulder and dumped at his feet. The shout was cut off with a grunt as the air was slammed out of his lungs, and he lost precious seconds trying to get his abused lungs to work.

Luckily Eliot didn't keep heading for the door, instead remaining standing, his arms crossed over his chest with a truly ferocious scowl. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Please don't leave," Alec gasped, every breath a struggle. "I'm sorry. You're nothing like him." The scowl remained and desperate to keep Eliot from leaving, Alec started to babble. "You did some really bad stuff, I know, but you decided to change, to make the world a better place and I know I said some really shitty things but I was angry and I don't really believe them, man, so please, please don't leave cuz I care about us too much to keep being stupid and I—"

"Okay, okay, I get it. You can stop rambling now." The scowl was still there, but Eliot rolled his eyes as he reached down to offer Alec a hand up, and Alec was so relieved that his head started spinning even before he was hauled to his feet.

Relieved that Eliot wasn't leaving and knowing he was still pissed, Alec still didn't expect to be shoved up against the wall. With Eliot's hands shoved up underneath his shirt, his head began to spin for a whole new reason. "Eliot?"

"Just shut up and kiss me before your mouth gets you in any more trouble," Eliot growled, pinning Alec in place with his hips.

Shaking from how close he'd come to losing one of the best things in his life, Alec didn't hesitate.


End file.
